Diving board



Aug. 5, 1941. J, L STARK 2,251,766

DIVING BOARD lFiled April 2, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 l v Ew INVENTOR.

Y Ufa/7W L 5MM Aug. 5, 1941. J, STARK 2.251,766

DIVING BOARD Filed April 2, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 N -1NVENToR. N L/a/yw L .5F/@lr BY W 31% l ATTQRNEY.

Patented Aug. 5, 1941 UNITED STATES PAT EN T OFFICE.'

DIVING, BOA-RD `lohn L. Stark, Cedar Rapids, Iowa Applicationl April 2, 1940, S'erial- No. 327,397

5 Claims.

This invention relates to diving boards andl has particular relation to a diving board employing compression or expansion spring means to provide iiexibility.

Devices of the character here` considered usually employ a laminated board structure which consists of tapered two by fours placed side by side and bolted together. These boards are usually secured to. an upright at one end and allowed to rest upon a fulcrumr or base which is placed near the center of the board. In this way the board fiexes along its entire length.

These structures of the prior art are of necessity subject to a great deal of strain and consequent breakage. The method of construction makes them a highly expensive article of manufacture, and the expense to the owner is excessive inasmuch as these boards must be replaced several times during each season.

The excessive breakage of these boards is caused by the fa-ct that the boards must be so constructed as to achieve a compromise between flexibility and strength. It isobvious that an exceedingly flexible board would lack strength, while a board having the desired strength would lack the necessary flexibility. The inherent nature of this structure makes the combination of these two opposite factors extremely dilicult. The usual wooden diving board does not have suicient strength and, a's a result, the boards f frequently break at their center sections.

It is a general object of my invention to provide a simple and reliable diving board which achieves both strength and flexibility without requiring a compromise between these two qualities.

Another object of my invention is to provide a diving board which does not require an expensive wooden construction, but rather employs metal to attain strength and flexibility.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a diving board which is simple in construction and requires the minimum of maintenance care.

It is still another object of my invention to provide a diving board which will duplicate the performance of the best wooden board without the attendant breakage of the wooden diving board.

It is another object of my invention to provide a diving board in which the degree of flexibility may be regulated.

It is a still further object of my invention to provide a diving board which is mechanical in nature but which has a minimum of mechanical 5 in the art upon a consideration of the accompanying drawings and following specications, wherein are disclosed several exemplary embodiments of the invention, with the understanding, however, that such changes may be made therein as fall within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In said drawings:

Figure 1 is, a side view of a diving board constructed according tol one embodiment of my invention.

Figure 2 isa top View of the diving board shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a side view of a diving board constructed according` to another embodiment of my invention.

Figure4 is a fragmentary View of the compression spring, used to impart resilience to the diving board shown in Figures l and 2, the casing of which has been broken away to show the spring structure in greater detail.

Referring now to the drawings:

. Referringy now to the drawings and to Figure l in particular, the base, indicated generally at I, supports a board or plank II to which a second board I3V is hingedly attached. This plank is supported at the outer end thereof by rods. I4, and resilient members, such as compression spring means, indicated generally at I6 which are held by stanchions I'I forming part of the base IIJ.

The base I0 is constructed according to the usual practice and is preferably made of iron piping. Such a base may include uprights I8, side members I9, and cross or connecting members I 9a. Mounted on the base Ill` and on the uprights 32 is a rectangular platform II preferably made of Wood. Hingedly attached thereto is a second platform I3, also preferably of wood. The hinge I2 is secured to the boards II and I3 by bolts I5. Attached to the base at 2| are two stanchions I'I which form an arc with the outer end of the board as a center point. A cross bar 2E] is attached to the outer end of the board I3 and has brackets 22 on its outer ends. The brackets 22 are attached to the ends of the rods I4, the other ends of which extend into the for- Ward ends of the casings 23 of the resilient support means I6. A cap 24 having ears 2G thereon is threaded upon the other end of each casing,

The rods I4, the resilient members I, and the bracing rods 29 are substantially parallel and at sucient distance apart to allow an individual to pass between them.

The boards II and I3 and the hinge I2 are It is obvious that a diving board constructed according to my invention would be equal or superior in flexibility to the -customary wooden structure, but would be superior to the wooden board in strength. Metal springs, particularly coil springs, provide flexibility not possible in wood spring boards. In the devices that I have described, it is apparent that strength is not sacrificed in order to secure flexibility.

Although I have described a specific embodiment of my invention, it is apparent that modifications thereof may be made by those skilled in the art. Such modifications may be made n without departing from the spirit and scope of preferably covered by a cocoanut mat 33 which extends the entire length of the diving board and is fastened to the under surface of the outer end of the board I3 by a plate 34 which is, in turn, attached to the board by screws 36. The mat is' also tacked to the board I3 by tacks 37. The mat is preferably attached to the board II only by adjustable shock cords 38 laced through grommets and fastened to the end of the platform. These shock cords maintain tension of the mat Over the diving board II.

- The resilient member of compression spring chamber, indicated generally at I6, is shown in greater detail in Figure 4. The rod I4 extends through a lower cover member into the casing 23, and a collar 39 is fastened to the end of the rod by means of a pair of nuts 4|. A heavy steel compression spring 42 is inserted between the collar, and the lower end of the casing to provide the spring to the diving board. A second light steel spring 43 is placed between collar 39 and the casing cap 24 to take up the back lash and smooth out the rebound of the larger spring 42 and the diving board.

Figure 3 shows another embodiment of my invention. In this embodiment, the stanchions I1 extend downwardly from the cross `arms I9 of the base Iii and are held rigid by struts 44 welded in place. The resilient supporting means includes a casing 45 open at one end thereof, and a plunger'M extending into the open end of the casing. The plunger 4l may be a pipe pivotally attached to the stanchion I'I by collar 21 as already described. A heavy steel compression spring 49 is interposed in the casing 46 between the plunger and the casing cap 48. The casing cap has ears I thereon with which the casing is pivotally connected to brackets 22 mounted on the end of thev diving board, as previously described in connection with Figures l and 2.

Means for taking care of whip or back lash in the board, due to the heavy compression spring, may be provided in the form of a single rod 52 attached to the end of the diving board and to a light tension spring 53. The spring 53 is in turn attached to a cross member between the stanchions Il.

In this embodiment of my invention, since the resilient members are under the board, they may be placed closer together so as to take as little space as possible.

my invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a diving board, a fixed platform, a substantially rigid spring-board member, means for hingedly connecting the spring board to the platform, stanchion members, and resilient means disposed between the stanchion members and the end of the spring board opposite the hinge means to afford support and spring -to the springboard.

2. In a diving board, a xed member, a movable member hingedly attached thereto, a stanchion curved in the arc of a circle having its center at a point near the outer end of the movable member, a resilient member attached at its outer end to the movable member near its outer end, and means for slidably attaching the inner end of the resilient member to the curved stanchion to permit the angle of the resilient member relative to the movable member to be adjusted so as to change the amount of spring of the movable member.

3. In a diving board, a platform, a springboard hingedly attached thereto, a frame including a stanchion disposed to substantially form the arc of a circle having its center near the outer end of the spring-board, a resilient bracing member pivotally connected to the spring board near the outer end thereof and slidably engaged at its inner end with the stanchion, and means for locking the said inner end of the resilient member at any point on the said stanchion.

4. In a diving board, a platform, a substantially rigid spring board hingedly connected thereto, stanchion members mounted at the sides of the platform, resilient means connected to the stanchion members and to the spring board at a point remote from the hinged connection of the board with the platform, the said resilient means including a casing, a compression spring within the casing, and other means for counteracting backlash in the compression spring.

5. In a diving board, a platform frame, a platform supported thereby, stanchions comprising upward extensions of the platform frame, a springboard hingedly attached to the platform, and means including coil springs for connecting the stanchions and the springboard at a point remote from the point of attachment of the board to the platform.

JOI-IN L. STARK. 

